Edmund W. Miles Middle School honors the memory of Jonelle Henry

Jonelle Henry was an Amityville School District student "who had a zest for life, and a love of learning" that was nurtured by her family, her teachers and her peers during her years in the district.

"She was the type of young lady who brought out the best in everyone; Everyone loved Jonelle," said Rikki Budnick, one of Jonelle's former teachers who said Jonelle never let cerebral palsy and other health issues bring her down. "Every day she would come to school smiling and ready to learn."

Last year, her health failing, Jonelle died from complicatons of pneumonia, while visiting her grandmother in the Caribbean. Her death rocked the school community, leaving a void among students and staff. "The students and I felt something had to be done to memorialize this little girl who was so spiritual and compassionate in the face of so much adversity," Budnick said.

After sharing her thoughts with administration and her colleagues, Budnick formed a group to work to place a memorial bench in the front of Edmund W. Miles Middle School where Jonelle was a student when she died. Members of the Amityville Parent Teacher Coalition donated $100 to get the project started, and teaching assistants, who worked closely with Jonelle, raised $600 with the help of the middle school students through bake sales of cakes donated by Entenmann's. The funds were used to purchase a bench, with an engraved plaque memorializing Jonelle, which rests upon a cement platform created by the district buildings and grounds crew.

A special ceremony was held to unveil the bench, which is flanked by planters that weredonated by the district. Each planter holds an evergreen bush, to symbolize the everlasting presence of Jonelle in the hearts of students and staff, a presence that students will be reminded of when they see the bench that bears her name.

In photo, Edmund W. Miles Middle School teacher Rikki Budnick, speaks a few words about Jonelle Henry, a student who died from pneumonia. The school community banned together to raise funds to purchase a memorial bench in memory of Jonelle, a special student who touched many students' lives with her bubbly personality and compassionate ways.

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